cantrip
noun/ˈkæntɹɪp/
Etymology From Middle Scots cantrip, cantrap (“a magic charm; a trick”). Further origin obscure, but likely a corruption of Scottish Gaelic canntaireachd (identical to Irish cantaireacht), referring to a system of musical notation consisting of a series of otherwise meaningless syllables memorised by pipers in learning their tunes; this was then used similarly to abracadabra. Regardless of details, ultimately derived from Latin cantō (“to sing, chant, play an instrument”).
1
A spell or incantation; a trifling magic trick.
- Coffins stood round, like open presses, That shaw’d the dead in their last dresses; And by some devilish cantrip slight Each in its cauld hand held a light […]1791, Robert Burns, "Tam o' Shanter", lines 125-8, http://www.bartleby.com/337/825.html#txt28
- I have some poor little skill—not like yours, Master Doctor, of course—in small spells and cantrips that I’d be glad to use against our enemies if it was agreeable to all concerned.1951, C. S. Lewis, chapter 12, in Prince Caspian, Collins, published 1998:
3 more examples
- For one thing, I've no intention of distributing cantrips and costly crucifixes to every rapable woman in the Parish of St Magloire.1976, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Something Nasty in the Woodshed, Penguin, published 2001, page 422:
- And when I say now the power of the name Jesus makes you whole, I indulge in no petty mountebank’s cantrips.1984, Anthony Burgess, The Kingdom Of The Wicked:
- But it sounds to me like you're in a totally different category. Not garden-variety cantrip stuff.2009, James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet, Witch and Wizard, Little, Brown and Company, page 148:
2
A wilful piece of trickery or mischief.
3
A minor spell, typically one that can be cast without preparation.
Roleplaying games
- Related terms
- spellwork